Episodes

  • A Kinship with Ash: Heather Swan’s Poetic Reckoning with Nature and Loss

    A Kinship with Ash: Heather Swan’s Poetic Reckoning with Nature and Loss
    Aug 25 2025
    WORT 89.9FM Madison · A Kinship with Ash: Heather Swan In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski sits down with Wisconsin poet, essayist, and environmental humanities scholar Heather Swan. A lecturer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Swan brings a unique blend of ecological insight and lyrical depth to her writing, exploring the fragile intersections between humans and the natural world. Her poetry collection, A Kinship with Ash, published by Terrapin Books, is a meditation on grief, resilience, and ecological awareness. Through vivid imagery and quiet urgency, Swan’s poems invite readers to consider their place in a world marked by environmental loss and transformation. The collection is both an elegy and call to attention—an exploration of what it means to live with reverence in a time of ecological crisis. Rather than seeking solace in an untouched wilderness, Swan’s work turns toward the overlooked and the endangered: insects, birds, ash trees, and the quiet spaces where life persists. Her writing is rooted in Wisconsin’s landscape but reaches far beyond, drawing connections between personal sorrow and planetary grief. A mother, beekeeper, and award-winning author, Swan’s reflections are informed by her deep engagement with environmental literature and her own lived experience. Her previous nonfiction book, Where Honeybees Thrive: Stories from the Field, received the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award and explores the global plight of pollinators through stories of hope and activism. When not writing or teaching, Heather Swan can be found hiking, observing insects, or crafting essays that bridge science and poetry. Her work has appeared in The Sun, Aeon, Emergence, Terrain, and Minding Nature, among others. A Kinship with Ash is a lyrical reckoning with loss—both personal and ecological—and a reminder that kinship can be found in the smallest creatures and quietest places.
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    48 mins
  • The Journey Within: Exploring Life and Nature in Wisconsin’s Parks

    The Journey Within: Exploring Life and Nature in Wisconsin’s Parks
    Jul 28 2025
    WORT 89.9FM Madison · Time, Beauty, and Grief, Betsy-Korbinyr_7-28-25 In this edition of Madison Book Beat, host Lisa Malawski sits down with local author Betsy Korbinyr who is an award-winning author and retired social worker based in Madison, Wisconsin. With over 30 years of experience in hospice, medical, mental health, and school social work, she brings a deep understanding of aging, loss, and resilience to her writing. Her debut book, Time, Beauty, and Grief: A Hike Through Wisconsin’s 50 State Parks, is part memoir, part trail guide, and part reflection on growing older. Korbinyr set out to hike five miles in each of Wisconsin’s 50 state parks within a single year. The result is a life-affirming collection of essays exploring grief, healing, resilience, and the natural beauty of her home state. It is the first book to feature all 50 Wisconsin state parks, making it both a practical guide and a heartfelt meditation on growing older. Rather than focusing on far-flung adventures, Korbinyr chose to explore the natural beauty of her home state, offering readers an accessible and heartfelt journey through all 50 Wisconsin state parks. The book blends practical hiking tips with personal essays that touch on grief, healing, and the search for meaning in later life. A woman turning 65 ends up with one of her hiking boots in the grave as she embarks on a Quest to complete five miles in all 50 Wisconsin State Parks in one year. Life, like hiking, is unpredictable—despite preparation, the terrain can surprise you. Korbinyr’s reflections encourage readers to reject ageist stereotypes and embrace aging with curiosity, courage, and color. In addition to her writing, Betsy is a certified thanatologist (CT), trained in death, dying, and bereavement counseling—a perspective that subtly informs her reflections on life’s transitions. She is also an avid traveler and hiker, having explored trails across England, Ireland, India, and the U.S. When not writing or speaking at local events, Betsy enjoys gardening, creating art, and hiking, often reflecting on life with humor and humility. Time, Beauty, and Grief: A Hike Through Wisconsin’s 50 State Parks Korbinyr’s debut book is part trail guide, part memoir, and part philosophical reflection on aging. It’s the first book to include all 50 parks and encourages readers to embrace aging with curiosity and courage.
    • Published by Little Creek Press
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    47 mins
  • Dean Robbins, "Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes Who Changed The State, The World, And Me"

    Dean Robbins, "Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes Who Changed The State, The World, And Me"
    Jul 21 2025
    Robbins, Dean Transcript Stu Levitan welcomes the very successful author, editor, and broadcast personality, Dean Robbins to discuss his latest book, Wisconsin Idols, 100 Heroes Who Have Changed the State, the World, and Me, (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2025) . It's a collection of engaging short essays about 100 outstanding musicians, thinkers, actors, athletes, creators, and boundary-breakers who are either from Wisconsin, attended the UW, or did something special here, and who had an impact on Dean. People like the seven cover images -- Oprah Winfrey, basketball great and human rights activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (when he was still known as Lou Alcindor), comedian Chris Farley, astronaut Laurel Clark, musicians Richard Davis and Bon Iver, and Ho-Chunk memoirist Mountain Wolf Woman. For his part, Dean himself has had an impact, certainly on the state and on Stu. He started as a freelance writer in 1983, and became arts editor at Isthmus in 1991 (where Stu had the pleasure of being one of his free-lancers). He led the paper as editor-in-chief from 2008 to 2014, served as communications director for the UW Division of Continuing Studies for five years, and since 2019 has been editor of the alumni magazine On Wisconsin. And beyond this award-winning journalism career, Dean has since 2010 developed a separate and even more honored career writing 15 children's nonfiction books. That part of Dean's life and career which will be the subject of another BookBeat episode later this year. It is a pleasure to finally welcome to Madison BookBeat Dean Robbins.
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    53 mins
  • Madison BookBeat Featured Steven Davis, Author of "The Other Public Lands"

    Madison BookBeat Featured Steven Davis, Author of "The Other Public Lands"
    Jul 18 2025
    On July 7th, Madison BookBeat host Bill Tishler welcomed Steven Davis, professor of political science at Edgewood University, to WORT 89.9 FM to discuss Davis’s new book, The Other Public Lands: Preservation, Extraction, and Politics on the Fifty States’ Natural Resource Lands (Temple University Press, 2025). While national parks and federally managed lands often dominate the conversation, Davis’s research highlights an often-overlooked category—nearly 200 million acres owned and managed by individual states. Drawing on extensive comparative analysis across all 50 states, he provided valuable insights into how these lands are governed, protected, and sometimes exploited. Davis also reflected on Wisconsin’s deep conservation legacy, shaped by figures like John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Gaylord Nelson, and expressed concern over how far the state has fallen from the leadership position it once held in environmental stewardship and support for public lands. The episode gave listeners a richer understanding of the vital role state-owned lands play in shaping environmental policy, public access, and political decision-making nationwide. Images courtesy of Bill Tishler and Temple University Press
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    53 mins
  • Kristina Amelong on accepting life (and death)'s mysteries in "What My Brother Knew"

    Kristina Amelong on accepting life (and death)'s mysteries in "What My Brother Knew"
    Jul 14 2025
    On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie talks with author Kristina Amelong about her debut memoir, What My Brother Knew (She Writes Press). As a boy, Jay Amelong predicted the accident that caused his death, down to the color of the car that hit him. "I will die young, while riding my bike," he told friends and family repeatedly. "It won't be much longer. I want you to be prepared." Baffling words to hear from the mouth of a content thirteen-year-old. When Kristina Amelong was only seventeen, her brother's tragic death unfolded exactly as he said it would, radically changing her life. Propelled down a self-destructive path of drug addiction and reckless sex, Kristina spent much of her young adult years wanting to die. Once or twice she came close. Always, Jay's bizarre story and his inexplicable acceptance of death lived in her body. More than thirty years later, Kristina embarks on a journey of discovery, seeking truth about herself, her brother, and the universe. The result of her investigation is a memoir that defies belief. Charting a life path from loss and abuse to healing and spiritual awakening, What My Brother Knew demonstrates the transformative power of facing the mystery of death head-on and the incredible human ability to do so. Kristina Amelong is the founder and owner of Optimal Health Network, a holistic health business. She is also the author of the self-published book Ten Days to Optimal Health: A Guide to Nutritional Therapy and Colon Cleansing, and a senior board member for the Center for World Philosophy and Religion, a nonprofit organization dedicated to a reweaving of the human story that will guide humanity through the current evolutionary crisis. She has a passion for photography, gardening, and pickleball. Kristina resides in Madison, Wisconsin, with her three dogs and a brood of chickens.
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    50 mins
  • Doug Moe, “Saving Hearts and Killing Rats: Karl Paul Link and the Discovery of Warfarin”

    Doug Moe, “Saving Hearts and Killing Rats: Karl Paul Link and the Discovery of Warfarin”
    Jun 30 2025

    Stu Levitan welcomes the biographer of modern Madison, award-winning columnist Doug Moe, for a conversation about his latest book, Saving Hearts and Killing Rats: Karl Paul Link and the Discovery of Warfarin. It’s the first detailed look at one of the most important and most honored biochemists of the 20th century — the brilliant, unconventional, and seemingly bipolar University of Wisconsin scientist whose discoveries led to two synthetic compounds: the rat-killing Warfarin and the heart-saving Coumadin. And all because at the depths of the Great Depression a St. Croix farmer turned to his state government to learn why his cows were dying of internal bleeding after eating sweet clover hay that had gone bad. It’s quite a story about quite a scientist, which Doug Moe tells quite well.
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    52 mins
  • Denise S. Robbins on states of emergency in her debut novel “The Unmapping”

    Denise S. Robbins on states of emergency in her debut novel “The Unmapping”
    Jun 9 2025

    On this edition of Madison BookBeat, host Sara Batkie talks with author Denise S. Robbins about her debut novel The Unmapping.

    There is no flash of light, no crumbling, no quaking. Each person in New York wakes up on an unfamiliar block after the buildings all switch positions overnight. The power grid has snapped, thousands of residents are missing, and the Empire State Building is on Coney Island—for now. The next night, it happens again.

    Esme Green and Arjun Varma work for the city of New York’s emergency management team and are tasked with managing the disaster response for “The Unmapping.” As Esme tries to wade through the bureaucratic nightmare of an endlessly shuffling city, she’s distracted by the ongoing search for her missing fiancé. Meanwhile, Arjun focuses on the ground-level rescue of disoriented New Yorkers, hoping to become the hero the city needs.

    Denise S. Robbins is from Madison, Wisconsin, the city where she grew up and to which she returned after sixteen years of living and working in climate activism on the East Coast. In Madison, she lives with her husband in a yellow house circled by oaks and pines and two owls, and works as a consultant for several climate advocacy groups. She is a Pushcart Prize–nominated author whose stories have been published in literary journals including The Barcelona Review, Gulf Coast, and many more.
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    51 mins
  • Amb. Tom Loftus, “Mission to Oslo”

    Amb. Tom Loftus, “Mission to Oslo”
    May 19 2025

    Stu Levitan interviews former U.S. Ambassador to Norway (1993-1997) Tom Loftus about his new book, Mission to Oslo, Dancing with the Queen, Dealmaking with the Russians, Shaping History (Mineral Point: Little Creek Press, 2024).

    Amb. Loftus served during a pivotal period in diplomatic and military history, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was a time of optimism, but it was fraught with uncertainty, a time of particular concern in neighboring Norway. Amb. Loftus’s success helping forge the agreement among the U.S., Norway and the new Russia to start the clean-up of the nuclear waste the former Soviet Union had dumped for decades into the Arctic Ocean (a toxic legacy of its submarine fleet just across the border in Murmansk) is largely why the King of Norway bestowed upon him the Grand Cross, the highest order of the Norwegian Order of Merit, for outstanding service in the interest of Norway. Amb. Loftus also did a major solid for the incoming president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, solving a looming trade crisis that saved his textile industry.

    Among the leading supporting players in this engaging and perceptive account are three powerful and impressive women: First Lady Hilary Clinton, UW Chancellor Donna Shalala, and Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, whose later selection as director general of the World Health Organization Amb. Loftus helped secure. There’s also an inside account of his close relationship with Bill Clinton, whose presidential nomination he helped secure by leading his Wisconsin primary campaign in 1992.

    Grandson of Norwegian immigrants, Amb. Loftus writes and speaks with emotion and insight into the people and places of his ancestral homeland. He also gives a real sense of diplomatic nitty-gritty, from celebrating Syttende Mai with Their Majesties the King and Queen to posing for photos with Yassir Arafat.

    Amb. Loftus served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1977 to 1991, the final eight years as its speaker — the longest any Democrat has ever held that post. In 1990, he was the Democratic nominee for governor, finishing second behind Governor Tommy Thompson, who, 30 years later, as interim president of the University of Wisconsin system, would hire him as a senior policy advisor. By then, Amb. Loftus had already had a close relationship with the UW, graduating from the UW Whitewater, earning his master’s from the UW Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs, and serving on the Board of Regents from 2005 to 2011.
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    1 hr and 31 mins